A snowboard is like a single wide ski, usually with one or more platforms supporting the feet of a skier. One such board is shown in U.S. Pat. No 5,190,311. Because snowboard riders face somewhat across the board, similar to a skateboard rider, snowboards have front and rear fixed boot bindings which allow a rider to place a foot angled across the longitundinal axis (a line connecting the front and rear ends of the board) of the board, in contrast to conventional skis.
Skis and snowboards, used on uneven runs, or during stresses such as turning and stopping tend to flex. When a rigid platform is mounted onto the ski or snowboard, flexing is restrained in that part of the board, stressing the board unevenly and interfering with control and ride of the rider. The upward flex of skis is noted and an approach to the problem suggested by U.S. Pat. No. 3,797,844. Here, a rigid plate is spaced from the ski and mounted on two mounts having pivot pins. One pivot pin rests in a slotted hole.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,085,455 and 5,044,656, incorporated herein by reference, disclose plate type bindings adapted with safety releases.
During certain maneuvers, and on rough terrain, portions of the board, or the whole board are lifted from contact with the snow momentarily and when the board falls back to the snow the rider is bumped about. These bumps range vibrational to jolting and can distract the rider, or over a period of time, cause injury to the rider. One shock absorber, for skis, is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,895, incorporated herein by reference.
There exists a need for a snowboard binding which allows maximum flexure of the snowboard and damps transmitted impacts.